A Clayton County couple was arrested Thursday after being accused of child abuse.
Anthony and Tammy Irvin are in the Clayton County Jail facing numerous charges after local detectives received information from a sheriff's office in Florida, where the children were visiting relatives, authorities said.
The husband and wife are accused of beating their five children with electrical cords and depriving them of food and water for days, Channel 2 Action News reported.
The Irvins, both 33, are each charged with 10 counts of cruelty to children, five counts of contributing to the deprivation of a minor, four counts of battery/family violence and two counts of false imprisonment.
Clayton police received information from the Escambia County, Fla., Sheriff's Office about alleged activities in the Irvins' home on Thorne Ridge Trail. Some of the children said they were put in a closet for days, while one said she was locked in the garage, Channel 2 said.
Neighbor Jason Swift told Channel 2 that the children never looked malnourished to him.
He also said he wrote a letter to the Department of Family and Children Services on Anthony Irvin's behalf at his request when the allegations were made.
"They really didn't look abused," he told Channel 2. "But you can't say what goes on inside the house. Everything looked fine to me."
The children are in state custody, the report said.
Clayton police said the investigation is continuing.
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